Colon Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Colon Cancer, including details on causes, treatment, symptoms.

IL-4/Stat6 activities correlate with apoptosis and metastasis in colon cancer cells.

Li BH, Yang XZ, Li PD, Yuan Q, Liu XH, Yuan J, Zhang WJ

Department of Medical Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital and Cancer Research Center, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China.

IL-4-induced Stat6 signaling is active in a variety of cell types and plays a role in cell proliferation/growth and resistance to apoptosis. Using EMSA, we identified differential IL-4/Stat6 activities in colorectal cancer cell lines, HT-29 being active Stat6(high) phenotype and Caco-2 being defective Stat6(null) phenotype, respectively. Active Stat6(high) HT-29 cells exhibited resistance to apoptosis by flowcytometry and aggressive metastasis by Transwell assay compared with defective Stat6(null) Caco-2 cells. Comparing one another using RT-PCR, Stat6(high) HT-29 cells expressed more mRNA of anti-apoptotic and pro-metastatic genes Survivin, MDM2, and TMPRSS4, while Stat6(null) Caco-2 cells expressed more mRNA of pro-apoptotic and anti-metastatic genes BAX, CAV1, and P53, respectively. This is the first study describing correlations of IL-4/Stat6 activities with apoptosis and metastasis in colon cancer. These findings, together with the observation of constitutive Stat6 activation in many human malignancies, suggest that Stat6 activities could be a biomarker for cancer cell's invasive/metastatic capability.

Published 25 March 2008 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 369(2): 554-60.
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